Discussions of class make many Americans uncomfortable. This accessible book makes class visible in everyday life. Solely identifying political and economic inequalities between classes offers an incomplete picture of class dynamics in America, and may not connect with people's lived experiences. In Reading Classes, Barbara Jensen explores the anguish caused by class in our society, identifying classism-or anti-working class prejudice-as a central factor in the reproduction of inequality in America. Giving voice to the experiences and inner lives of working-class people, Jensen-a community and counseling psychologist-provides an in-depth, psychologically informed examination of how class in America is created and re-created through culture, with an emphasis on how working- and middle-class cultures differ and conflict. This book is unique in its claim that working-class cultures have positive qualities that serve to keep members within them, and that can haunt those who leave them behind.

Through both autobiographical reflections on her dual citizenship in the working class and middle class and the life stories of students, clients, and relatives, Jensen brings into focus the clash between the realities of working-class life and middle-class expectations for working-class people. Focusing on education, she finds that at every point in their personal development and educational history, working-class children are misunderstood, ignored, or disrespected by middle-class teachers and administrators. Education, while often hailed as a way to "cross classes," brings with it its own set of conflicts and internal struggles. These problems can lead to a divided self, resulting in alienation and suffering for the upwardly mobile student. Jensen suggests how to increase awareness of the value of working-class cultures to a truly inclusive American society at personal, professional, and societal levels.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"With keen insights into the values, attitudes, and struggles of both the working and middle classes, she has written a work that seamlessly melds the personal with the theoretical. . . . An enlightening read on the consequences of classism in America, for the middle class this book effectively shatters the myopic cultural lens through which they often view, judge, and justify the subjugation of the working class. For the working class, it is an affirmation of their cultures, lifestyles, and labors. A companion for the class 'cross-overs,' it's a must-read for teachers, psychologists, and social workers."―Elissa Mugianis, ForeWord Reviews (Fall 2012)

"Working-class culture is an important topic, but it is most often treated as something to overcome. Barbara Jensen's approach is different: she speaks of working-class life from its strengths, without eliding its pain and oppression. Moreover, she writes beautifully."―Jean Anyon, Graduate Center, City University of New York, author of Marx and Education

"Like Barbara Jensen, I was born in the working class but moved into the middle class. That journey is rife with perils, as a person must move away from the very people who launched him or her to go on to become something completely different. Coming from a tough Brooklyn neighborhood, I was eager to move on with my life. But Jensen, with her stories about the love and decency of her working-class forebears, showed me another way to be working class. It made me rethink some of my core assumptions and reevaluate my initial judgments about where I came from and who I am. Working-class people moving into the middle class rarely see their lives represented. Here, then, is a great example of that kind of life, that kind of experience. Jensen's personal story, combined with her training as a psychologist, make her the perfect person to write this book."―Al Lubrano, author of Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams

"Whether you're middle class or working class, you need to read this book. And if you’re an upwardly mobile 'crossover,' this book could save your sanity. Barbara Jensen has pulled off something extraordinary: she exemplifies her ideas about the strengths of working-class and middle-class cultures by writing in both voices. A crossover herself, she analyzes previous theories and creates a memorable framework, and she tells us heartfelt stories and uses colorful analogies. This powerful book walks its talk."―Betsy Leondar-Wright, author of Class Matters, director of Class Action (classism.org)

About the Author

Barbara Jensen is a Licensed Counseling and Community Psychologist who counsels mixed-class couples and professionals from working-class backgrounds in Minneapolis. She also works in a variety of community settings including schools, psychiatric facilities, and homeless shelters.

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Reading Classes by Barbara Jensen is posed as a psychological text but is really a personal working-through of Jensen's own place in a classed society. She struggles through stories of the back-and-forth of academics and professionals and their class identities: is she working class or middle class? What is middle class? Noting the animosity that grows between families when one member of the family transcends through the ceiling of the working class and into the middle class, she simultaneously leads you to address your own classism while also questioning your class position in society and how you identify. While the book had several issues in terms of generalizations that were not fully substantiated, I wholly enjoyed reading it. My Kindle version of the text, though, did not have the original page numbers as stated, which is extremely disappointing since I now cannot cite it properly in my academic work.

This book is an interesting combination of a personal memoir and an analysis of theoretical and sociological studies addressing class issues in the US. The author is a psychologist who grew up in a working class family and due to her education and job has "crossed over" (her terminology) to the middle class. Her experience seems to be primarily rooted in the Midwest. She writes about class bias in the US, mainly as it effects school children and patients in counseling but as to others as well. The author's theory is, "the most common form of classism is solipsism, or my-world-is-the whole-world, what I call class-blinder. The inability to see beyond one's own world. The unspoken assumption is that everyone could know these things but that some are too primitive or unevolved to want to know.. Solipsism is often accompanied by judgments of taste: another form of classism. `Oh my God, she had plastic flowers and the couch was orange plaid! So tacky ....' "

One of the characteristics of people in the middle class, posits the author, v. working class, is that work and careers are the center of the middle class adult's life, rather than working to live - a career defines a life. "For middle class people like me, too often, work is our life. Not only is this lonelier, it leads to problems like workaholism and emotional devastation if one loses one's jobs." I for one can completely identify with this. My career and its demands swallows everything up; it seems like my family revolves around my job demands. But when I visit with family and friends where I grew up, this concept just seems so foreign to them. I can't help wondering who has it better?

Class is something I think about a lot. I work in a career that has me surrounded by upper middle class and upper class individuals. Most of my colleagues and clients came from this kind of background and married someone from a similar background. I live in an economically diverse community, to a certain extent but again the majority of people I know and who I socialize with are upper middle class and came from that type of background. I grew up in a small rural factory town and while my parents are professionals, there is no real segregation in such a small community. Everyone knows and socializes with everyone else. I thought that was normal growing up - but I learned quickly in college and in my professional career that what I thought was routine is not normal for other people. Most of the people I know, their only exposure to working class America is through movies or when they hire someone to do work for them. And unlike most of the people I know from college, grad school or law school, I married a working class man - our family straddles multiple lines and categories. Thus, going in to the book I felt very sympathetic to this author's position and role. I started this book with high hopes and looked forward to new revelations. I am not sure it brought me new revelations, but it definitively helped me identify my own class judgments and prejudices.

The analysis of theory and sociological studies is very well done. Ms Jensen posits some interesting ideas concerning how middle class and working class families socialize their children in very different ways and that American schools are set up to be institutionally biased in favor of middle class children. She writes that working class parents socialize their children to survive in a group and work with other people as a group; whereas, middle class parents socialize their children to be focused on themselves and be an individual. For example, "middle class children were trained by their parents to name, hold and retrieve content from books and other print materials. They were further taught (1) to ask questions frequently; (2) to expect answers they can understand; (3) to answer questions themselves; and (4) to elaborate."

Her observations and summaries are interesting stuff. They made me think and continue to make me think about my role, my family and how we fit into American society. I think it is worthwhile for most middle class and upper middle class people, particularly educators, health care workers and counselors to consider how class bias and class structure influences their way of thinking and approaching people.

Ultimately though, I thought the memoir sections were not well written and didn't add much to the story. In the end, I skimmed these parts. The personal narrative should have been edited significantly or written with a different tone. I do think that this book is worth the read to encourage readers to think about class, how so much judgment and disdain is built in to our daily thought process and ideas for changing this. So much of what we consider to be racism and xenophobia is tied into class as well. This book was enlightening to me and provided my husband and I a lot to discuss. Coming from such a different background he often has very different ideas on how our kids should spend their free time and this book opened my eyes to see his point of view.

Jensen brings up the verboten topic of class in America. We're all one big class right? We've been lead to believe we're all middle class with a froth of elite billionaires at the very top. Wrong. The working class makes up 63% of American society and the middle class make up 36% with 10% of those being upper middle class. I wish Jensen had been clearer where the demarcations between classes lay but I understand how that would be all but impossible. Instead she defines the working class as those who have not gone on to earn a four year degree and who work with their hands. They're also characterized by a devotion to their friends and family and interacting with them in a cooperative way. They don't seek to stand out but to get along amongst their peers, to fit in. Jensen also makes the point that without the work they do American society would be at a standstill. The working class is largely invisible to the rest of us yet we count on them to make us comfortable and supply our material needs.

Middle classes are taught to be individuals first and to compete. There is no premium placed on cooperation. They are expected to have at least a bachelor's degree. They work at desks with ideas. Their product is thought that helps the elite class get and keep their market share. Propping up the elite class (A few times Jensen refers to these elite as a capitalist class.). This is something both the Middle and Working classes share.....serving the most affluent Americans. She also points out that those who achieve a college degree can squeak into the middle class but that often comes at the expense of distancing ourselves from our working class roots and families.

"Reading Classes" is a versatile book. I hope many lay people will read but also that it makes its way into sociology or psychology courses especially courses with an emphasis on cross cultural issues. I recently read Masih's (editor) "The Chalk Circle" which included essays written by recent immigrants, minorities, and Americans growing up or living outside the US who were born here but experienced a different America than the middle classes. "Reading Classes" could shed light in economics or communications courses as well.

This is a well researched, academic book yet it's amazingly readable. It's almost like she was writing for us working classes! It's close to impossible not to take it personally and to try and find your place in its paradigm. Jensen opened my eyes to many dynamics that have baffled me over the years especially in work situations. She states that though the working classes might use less complex words they have a vast repertoire of body cues and nuances that are easily understood by those with the same background. The middle classes, on the other hand, have been taught to `use their words'. The only legitimate communication is verbal; all other types should be ignored. In my career I've often been at a loss at meeting post mortems with my co-workers. When I give my take on the proceedings my co-workers reply to my observations with something such as, "That's NOT what they said!" But they did. I saw it. I felt it.

At less than 250 pages this is a small book but you'll find yourself reading slowly and pausing to contemplate her ideas. Again I'd like to emphasize how clearly and well Jensen writes.